Gold hits record as silver surges on outlook for Fed rate cuts
Gold held near a fresh record and silver hit a two-year high as two Federal Reserve officials said they still expect the US central bank to cut rates three times in 2024, buoying the outlook for the precious metals.
Bullion rose to a fresh peak above $2 288 an ounce before trading little changed, while silver topped $26 an ounce. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Cleveland counterpart Loretta Mester — both of whom vote on policy decisions this year — said three reductions were likely over 2024, although there’s no urgency. Lower rates benefit the non-yielding metals.
Gold has climbed by almost 11% this year, hitting a procession of records in the process, on expectations that lower US interest rates are on the horizon. Still, data showing the US economy remains robust have cast some doubt over the probable timing of any reductions by the Fed.
A fall in open interest suggests short-covering may have contributed to gold’s recent record, according to Suki Cooper, an analyst at Standard Chartered. The absence of a new catalyst driving the metal higher “makes price action more likely to be choppy and prone to corrections,” she said.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak later on Wednesday, potentially offering fresh insights into his policy outlook. At the end of the week, nonfarm payrolls figures will also be scrutinized, with healthy employment gains expected, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Spot gold was steady at $2 281.29 an ounce at 9:52 a.m. in Singapore, after touching $2288.40. Silver climbed to $26.34 an ounce, the highest intraday level since March 2022. Platinum and palladium were flat, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation